Turner County, South Dakota: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+51%. Republican peak: R+65 in 1952.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+51MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 8,8822024 5-year
- Median household income
- $75,7712024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 93.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+65 in 1952MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Gregory County, SD · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Turner CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Turner County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −34.7% |
| 1896 | −25.7% |
| 1900 | −38.2% |
| 1904 | −61.9% |
| 1908 | −36.9% |
| 1912 | +34.7% |
| 1916 | +15.9% |
| 1920 | −52.5% |
| 1924 | −38.3% |
| 1928 | −41.6% |
| 1932 | +18.5% |
| 1936 | −4.5% |
| 1940 | −44.7% |
| 1944 | −46.3% |
| 1948 | −33.3% |
| 1952 | −64.8% |
| 1956 | −41.8% |
| 1960 | −45.4% |
| 1964 | −13.2% |
| 1968 | −39.5% |
| 1972 | −20.2% |
| 1976 | −17.1% |
| 1980 | −39.2% |
| 1984 | −34.8% |
| 1988 | −15.5% |
| 1992 | −9.3% |
| 1996 | −7.1% |
| 2000 | +27.5% |
| 2004 | −29.7% |
| 2008 | −19.7% |
| 2012 | −31.0% |
| 2016 | −47.6% |
| 2020 | −47.3% |
| 2024 | −51.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,044 | 3,374 | 4,538 | ||
| R | 1,139 | 3,290 | 4,548 | ||
| R | 961 | 2,937 | 4,150 | ||
| R | 1,411 | 2,715 | 4,210 | ||
| R | 1,681 | 2,538 | 4,352 | ||
| R | 1,646 | 3,084 | 4,834 | ||
| D | 2,514 | 1,414 | 4,004 | ||
| R | 1,682 | 1,970 | 4,051 | ||
| R | 1,507 | 1,906 | 4,290 | ||
| R | 1,780 | 2,436 | 4,239 | ||
| R | 1,486 | 3,086 | 4,592 | ||
| R | 1,369 | 3,343 | 5,032 | ||
| R | 1,906 | 2,694 | 4,618 | ||
| R | 1,993 | 3,007 | 5,010 | ||
| R | 1,350 | 3,246 | 4,801 | ||
| R | 2,184 | 2,846 | 5,030 | ||
| R | 1,547 | 4,120 | 5,667 | ||
| R | 1,682 | 4,096 | 5,778 | ||
| R | 984 | 4,604 | 5,588 | ||
| R | 1,514 | 3,048 | 4,600 | ||
| R | 1,304 | 3,549 | 4,853 | ||
| R | 1,774 | 4,644 | 6,418 | ||
| R | 2,923 | 3,214 | 6,526 | ||
| D | 3,170 | 2,172 | 5,405 | ||
| R | 1,380 | 3,362 | 4,759 | ||
| O | 285 | 1,708 | 3,719 | ||
| R | 604 | 2,703 | 3,999 | ||
| D | 1,573 | 1,134 | 2,763 | ||
| O | 906 | 0 | 2,613 | ||
| R | 793 | 1,792 | 2,708 | ||
| R | 521 | 2,395 | 3,029 | ||
| R | 871 | 1,977 | 2,898 | ||
| R | 950 | 1,616 | 2,587 | ||
| R | 429 | 1,108 | 1,955 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
34.0%
Irish
8.0%
American
7.4%
English
4.1%
Italian
1.0%
French
1.0%
Polish
0.8%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 41.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$75,771
Turner County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Turner County$75,771
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Turner County ranks in the top 25% of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.1%
Working age (18–64)8.5%
Seniors (65+)14.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.2%
speak English only
Spanish1.9%
Other Indo-European1.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 50.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Turner County, anchored by small agricultural communities in the southeast corner of the state, has delivered Republican presidential margins above 50 points in recent cycles, reflecting the deep-red tilt common to the region's farming electorate.
The Republican margin here reached sixty-five points in 1952. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-one points.
A population of 8,882, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $75,771 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Gregory County and Fall River County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Turner County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46125/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Turner County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Turner County, South Dakota voted Republican by 51.3 points (R+51), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 4,538 votes cast, 1,044 went Democratic and 3,374 went Republican.
What is Turner County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Turner County, South Dakota in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 3 times, Republican 29 times, and other 2 times.
When did Turner County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Turner County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Turner County, South Dakota?
Turner County, South Dakota has a population of 8,882 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Turner County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Turner County, South Dakota is $75,771 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Turner County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Turner County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.